Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Late, but STILL Un-men Tuesday!

Holy crap, been so wrapped up with work today that I almost forgot to post my Un-men Tuesday preview! Again, from issue 7. Hope you dig it ;)



mike

Monday, February 04, 2008

Y- the Last Man tribute painting

Newsarama.com has been running a week long tribute to Y The Last Man, which is coming to an end. I was asked to contribute a piece of art to it, since apparently Brian and Pia are fans of my work! Very cool to hear, and I was more then happy to contribute.

Anyway, here's my piece for the tribute. Done with acrylic on illustration board.



You can see the story here

Best!
Mike

Saturday, February 02, 2008

From layout to inks - How to make a comic page

Ok, so you folks want to see how I make a comic page. Here it is. My process, with all it's boils and warts.

Step one: The script

Here's page 1 of issue 6, written by the brilliant John Whalen. John can draw, so he does a great job of giving me lots of visual info that makes approaching the page a little easier. He also sends photo ref for specific things, like the building in this scene, which again HELPS a TON.


1.1 CLOSE ON KILCROP'S SUNGLASSES - DAY
WIDE PANEL. Reflected in the lenses: an imposing concrete office building (description next panel), and behind it in the distance, the upper third of the Washington Monument.

KILCROP CAPTION
Home.

1.2 EXT. RICHARD B. CHENEY FEDERAL BUILDING - DAY
BIG PANEL. ANGLE FROM BEHIND Kilcrop as he approaches the main entrance of the building, passing a rectangular slab sign (see art reference) identifying this as:

"UNITED STATES/DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY/RICHARD B. CHENEY FEDERAL BUILDING."

It’s a blocky 16-story edifice on a busy street corner in Washington D.C. (Constitution Ave. and 15th St., let's say, with a partly obstructed view of the Washington Monument in the distance). Given the structure’s namesake, let's make the architecture personality-appropriate: Squat, rectangular, and ugly like the J. Edgar Hoover Building; standoffishly funereal like the Federal Reserve building or a fascist mausoleum; defensively wedgy like a reinforced rampart or bunker. In fact, that was probably the architect's intent: a civic building that channels the aesthetic of a concrete fallout bunker. The windows are small and deeply recessed, almost like bow slits on a castle.

KILCROP CAPTION 1
No place like it...

KILCROP CAPTION 2
Where the heart is...

KILCROP CAPTION 3
Where you hang your hat...

1.3 INT. LOBBY OF CHENEY BUILDING - DAY
HIGH ANGLE LOOKING DOWN ON Kilcrop, wearing a laminated I.D. badge on his suit breast pocket, as he crosses a large, utilitarian lobby. At the center of the drab marble floor is a Department of Energy seal (see art reference). Federal workers cross the lobby along various trajectories, more than a few rubbernecking awkwardly at the albino.

KILCROP CAPTION
...And a thousand other clichés that won’t smooth the lumps in your mattress.

1.4
SIDE VIEW of Kilcrop as he approaches a bank of elevators. Hanging prominently on the wall behind him is a large framed portrait of Dick Cheney in a dark business suit, lopsided snarl in full bloom. Tucked under the veep’s arm, hunter-style, is a double-barreled shotgun.

KILCROP CAPTION
Strip away the Hallmark bullshit and here’s what’s left:

1.5
FRONT VIEW of elevator with the passengers rudely staring at Kilcrop, who stands at the front of the car as the doors begin to close. He’s taking off his sunglasses, and we can see his startling pink eyes. We can now see the details of his laminated I.D. badge. From top to bottom: NNSA (National Nuclear Security Administration) logo (see art reference), the title "SPECIAL AGENT," a line with Kilcrop's signature (just "Kilcrop,"), and a color mug shot.

KILCROP CAPTION
Home is the place that’s most familiar.

Step two: Layouts

I never seem to do these the same way twice. Some times I do them at about 2" x 3.5", some times digitally, some times I'll do them almost full size. In this case I think they were about 4" x 6" or something...don't quote me on that.



You'll see they're pretty rough, but all the important things are there. Once this has been OK'd but my editor and writer, I blow it up to full image size (about 10" x 15") and blue line them in Photoshop using the Duotone setting. I have an RGB color set for this, but I forget what it is exactly. Basically, a really light baby blue.

This is printed out onto a sheet of bristol board which is about 11.5" x 17".

Step three: Pencils



I then get busy blocking in the pencils, keeping the things from the layouts that work and changing the bits that don't. Some times things, like the building in the second scene, just don't make sense. The perspective doesn't make sense and I needed to push the building way back. Sometimes the layout is changed to match whatever reference I may have. Like, the glasses in scene two. I ended up using a pair I had laying in my studio. I found them in an old box of stuff I had on the third floor and stashed them in my studio to use later. I knew I wanted to use them for Kilcrop because I didn't really use ref for his glasses in the earlier issues and just never really liked how they came out.


Step four: Inks

Here, again, I have to get the pencils OK'd and make a few changes as they come up. My editor wanted to go in slightly tighter on scene 2, which I just zoomed in digitally in Photoshop. I also do a quick cheat and find the logo for the department of energy symbol online and just paste it onto the floor in scene 3, transforming it a bit to make it fit the perspective of the floor. Then, I bump up the thresh hold and blueline the pages again and print them out again onto a full sheet of bristol again.

Did I mention I use this old larger format Epson Stylus 1280?

Anyway, I end up with this.



From there, I might add a little tone by hand (yes, I still have tone sheets from way back when). If not I then scan this at 600 dpi as a bitmap and do the tone digitally after converting the line art to greyscale. Once this is done, I make it a bitmap again and format it to fit the comic page size and upload it to the DC FTP .

Do that about 8 to 10 times in five days, and you have my work week in a nutshell...for the Un-men anyway.

Best,
mike

Friday, February 01, 2008

Giclée Sweet Science prints now online!


I'm doing some really high end giclée prints of the Sweet Science girls. I got to go to the printers and see them making some giclée prints, and I gotta tell you they're gorgeous! These things are archival museum quality, and printed on really nice cotton rag paper. These's prints will out live me! ;)

Here's a little bit of info on the giclée process:

The Term : The term  "giclee print" connotes an elevation in printmaking technology. Images are generated from high resolution digital scans and printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. The giclee printing process provides better color accuracy than other means of reproduction.

The Process : Giclee prints are created typically using professional 8-Color to 12-Color ink-jet printers. Among the manufacturers of these printers are vanguards such as Epson, MacDermid Colorspan, & Hewlett-Packard. These modern technology printers are capable of producing incredibly detailed prints for both the fine art and photographic markets. Giclee prints are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Iris prints, which are 4-Color ink-jet prints from a printer pioneered in the late 1970s by Iris Graphics.

The Quality : The quality of the giclee print rivals traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries.

The Market : Numerous examples of giclee prints can be found in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Chelsea Galleries. Recent auctions of giclee prints have fetched $10,800 for Annie Leibovitz, $9,600 for Chuck Close, and $22,800 for Wolfgang Tillmans (April 23/24 2004, Photographs, New York, Phillips de Pury & Company.)



Anyway, they're now available through the site's store. Check it out. The prints will be strictly limited to a run of 100 per piece, and shipped signed and flat.

Best,
mike

PS - I'm still working on the last two prints in this series, so keep an eye out for that.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Un-men tuesday!


Do YOU know what today is? Yyyyyyyyyup, it's UN-MEN TUESDAY! Again, a preview for issue 7 which is out February 20, 2008

Don't forget to pick up issue 6, which is a self contained story and a great jumping on point for new readers. Oh, and there's the trade too, if you missed the first arc. Be sure to pre-order it at your local comic shop, or at any of your favorite online stores.

Best,
Mike

Monday, January 28, 2008

Y- the last issue part I

So, many of you are big fans of Y - the last man. AND, as you know the comic is coming to an end. Newsarama is putting together a farewell to the book, and I was asked to contribute a piece for the official goodbye. I'm honored to help Newsarama.com say good by to a ground breaking comic.

I chose to focus on one of Y's coolest characters - Agent 355. Here's the tonal drawing I did to try and get my contribution figured out. I dug it, but decided to change the composition a bit for the final. I'll post it later in the week.



best,
mike

PS - I was told "Brian and Pia are big fans of your work"! Who knew!? :)

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Dirty Girls week 4


Hey, the first four weeks are down! Still having fun too.

Here's this week's Dirty Girl, a hard working construction worker. I can just imagine how that jackhammer is going to affect her...uh...disposition ;)

Check the past Dirty Girls out here, and look for a new girl every Monday.

best,
Mike

Friday, January 25, 2008

Sweet Science #4


I *think* this is done... I think...I may tinker with it before I put it to bed.

Which reminds me, I'll be offering the Sweet Science girls as a series of archival giclée prints in the next couple of weeks. So, keep an eye out for that! ;)

best,
Mike

Monday, January 21, 2008

Un-men tuesday!

Yup, it's Un-men Tuesday! Another page from the upcoming Un-men #7, from Vertigo.



This issues starts a new arc, so be sure to ask your local shop to carry it!

Don't forget the trade!! Pre-order now!

Best,
Mike

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Dirty Girls week 3



Hey all!

So, the Dirty Girls section of the site is up and running thanks to my web-ninja L. Jamal Walton. So, go check it out weekly and enjoy!

Dirty Girls Weekly

Best,
Mike

PS - Check out Jamal's business site.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Un-men tuesday!


Hey all!

So, I'm going to start posting Un-men preview pages every Tuesday. They may be pencils, they may be inks, who knows. But, look here every tuesday for a little sneak and a little peek!

From the upcoming issue 7 of the Un-men. On sale Feb. 20th.

Vertigo's web page for #7

best,
Mike

PS - Here's a past preview for Un-men #6

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Dirty Girls week 2

Hey all,

Still trying to get the new weekly pin up girl feature up and running on Thinktankcomics.com, but you can enjoy it here for the time being. When it's all set up, you can look forward to a new pin up girl drawing every monday. These are experiments, and once we have some I'm really into I'll be developing them into paintings and prints.

This week, we have ourselves a lovely plumber trying to get your pipes working properly. ;)




best,
Mike

PS - Posting this a few days early, just to get a jump on this coming week.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Un-men #6 out today!


Go check it out! I haven't seen it myself just yet.

Check out this amazing cover by Tomer Hanuka!

Mike

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Un-men #6





Hey all!

Just wanted to give you another sneak peek at Un-men #6, which hit's stands this coming week. It's a great jumping on point, since it's a self contained story. So, tell your friends! ;)

On Sale January 9, 2008
More info here

Thanks!
Mike

PS - Don't forget to pre-order the Un-men trade!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Merry Christmas 2007


Just in case this weekend is as all out crazy as I think it's going to be, I wanted to take a moment and wish you all a Merry Christmas. Hope you all have a great one, and get to spend time with family and friends.

best,
Mike

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Memory lane PT 2

Ok, let's continue our stroll...

Did this back when Tupac had died and everyone was coming out with album after album of his unreleased stuff. I showed this piece at a High School for at risk youth I used to teach at and some of the boys thought I was making fun of their idol and wanted to jump me. Good thing I have nerves of steel ;)



This is one of my favorites. I got the texture by pouring salt over the still wet colored inks I was using.



This was stolen and used on the cover of a limited release Redman mix CD thing. I even saw a picture of Redman holding one he had signed. They altered it a little and made it look intensely stupid.



When I was still doing advertising work for the Sixers I always had to draw a kindler, gentler Iverson. They never wanted tatoos on him or anything. So, I ended up doing one for my self with the tats to put in my portfolio.


That's all for now.

mike

Monday, December 17, 2007

Memory lane PT 1

I've been working on Hysteria and thinking about when I got started in comics, around 1999. Before I was in comics full time, I did mostly illustration work for magazines and advertising. Thought I'd share some of my old portfolio pieces from that. These are all date from 1999 to about 2001 or so.

McCain. This was from when I was trying to get into political illustration. Eventually got myself an offer to do a political cartoon about PA politics for a Philly paper, but the pay was poor and I was too busy to take on more work for less pay


Paint this caricature of Gore after his switcheroo performances during the presidential debates.


Did this after a story years ago about how fat our kids were getting here in the US. This was promptly stolen and used by a news paper in Arizona. YAY, Arizona!

Did this around the time I was trying to get into political satirical / editorial illustrations.

Years ago I was doing advertising art for this celebrity basketball game. AND1 had this team they would send out to play at events like this. Kinda like the Harlem Globetrotters only they actually played to win and had almost no charm. Two of the guys slammed at once during the game, and broke the glass. Crazy ass thing to see in real life. Anyway, this was going to the the cover to a CD for the event, but it never worked out.


That's it for now. I'll post more later this week.

Mike

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Un-men #6

So, the first arc of the Un-men is done and I hope you all enjoyed it. We're now in the middle of a new 3 issue arc starting with issue 7. HOWEVER, for issue six John wrote up a great little one issue story about Kilcrop. It explains a little bit about his past and lets us peek into his future. I really enoyed the hell out of it. Here's a preview. On Sale January 9, 2008.

Best,
Mike




Friday, December 07, 2007

Things that never were part IV

Here's some more stuff from books I DID NOT draw.

I did this for my pal Dan Panosian, who then did some great finishes over it. He put my name in the hat for this thing that Marvel was doing over seas, but they passed. I really don't much more about the book then that.





A few years back I was also very briefly attached to a White Tiger pitch, but Marvel went with a different team altogether. Kinda glad I didn't get this as I was drawing WAY too stiff and just didn't kill this the way I should have.





That's all for now,

Mike

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Un-men #5 preview

Wow, has it been almost ten days since I posted here? Sorry folks, Thanksgiving and finishing issue 7 got the best of me.

Anyway, here's some behind the scenes, sneak peek at Un-men #5.





Also, go read an intrview with Un-men writer John Whalen!

Best,
Mike

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Hysteria Vol. 0, Ch. 1 cover WIP


Got a chance to spend a little time working on this cover. I want to stick with a two color palette, in this case black and orange. Far from done, of course. The text is just a holder for now, and the space up top is for the title. Just thought I'd share where I'm at so far.

Oh, and I spelled "volume" incorrectly. Sorry, it's been a long week...

Best,
Mike

Friday, November 16, 2007

Sweet Science, Hysteria Vol. 1 Ch. 1 wrap up

Hey all,

Been hard at work on Un-men #7 as well as other side projects. During my signing tour to Philly and NY I was able to work on the Sweet Science while on the train. Here's some more works in progress. If all goes well, I may be done with this print series by Early Dec.




Also, the first chapter of Hysteria Vol. 0 has wrapped up online. Been working on a "cover" for the chapter, for something cool I have planned for the series. Here's the pencils for that.



Read the Hysteria webcomic here

More soon!

best,
Mike

Monday, November 12, 2007

Un-men #4 color previews & Interview

hey all,

So, Newsarama has a full color preview of #4 up. Check it out -

Un-men #4

Also, an interview I did about the Un-men back in Baltimore with Varient Edition is finally up. You can check that out here.

Interview

More art soon.

best,
Mike

Friday, November 09, 2007

Un-men signing tour!

Hey all,

I'll be in Philly tonight and tomorrow (with Un-men John Whalen), and then NY Sat. night (with John and Un-men cover artist Tomer Hanuka) Here's more info, from John's blog-

Fri., Nov. 9, 6-9pm:
Mike Hawthorne and John Whalen at Brave New Worlds Comics in Old City Philadelphia. 45 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (Phone: 215-925-6525)

Sat., Nov. 10, 11am-1pm:
Mike Hawthorne and John Whalen at Brave New Worlds Comics in Willow Grove, PA. 212 N. Easton Street, Willow Grove, PA 19090 (Phone: 215-657-8838)

Sat., Nov. 10, 5-7pm:
Mike Hawthorne, John Whalen and Tomer Hanuka at Midtown Comics Times Square in Manhattan. (200 W. 40th St. in Times Square (corner of 7th Ave.), New York, NY 10018 (Phone: 212-302-8192)

Additional dates and locations to be announced.

Mike

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Sweet Science #4 WIP pt1


Still plugging away at the Sweet Science prints anytime I have a few minutes. Here's where I am now. As always, this may change a good bit. before I'm all done.

Mike